A Day Off
by Catygirl
Summary: Elizabeth has a day off from her job at the State Department and Henry has everything planned for their free time.
1. Chapter 1

So my first story for this show, I really love it but being in the UK have only seen season 1. This is not set at any point, although before Tamerlane is likely. No mention is made of any episode storylines and is just a simple story about having a day off. Hope you enjoy, there are three chapters that I will post this week.

Madam Secretary: A Day Off, chapter 1

Elizabeth stretched in bed, it was a Saturday morning and for once she had absolutely nothing planned. She worked her muscles from the tips of her toes to her neck, rolling them and stretching until she felt totally loose and ready for the day. She looked around her bedroom as the daylight spilled in through the slightly open curtains. Henry was nowhere in sight and she sighed, a little disappointed that she had been not allowed the wake up that she wished. She turned to his side of the bed and spotted the note on his pillow.

"Mornin beautiful….we have the day to ourselves to take your time, breakfast or brunch is on me. Love H"

She smiled, it had been over 25 years of her life and she loved him more and more every day. She looked at the clock on her bedside table, 9.47, so brunch not breakfast them. She got out of bed, went through her morning routine at a leisurely pace and was soon going down the stairs to see if she could find her husband. She looked in the kitchen, surprised he wasn't there and then she moved through the ground floor of their house. She found him in the study with his nose in a book and she just stared at him. He was so unbelievably gorgeous and sexy, he has holding his specs in his hand with one leg of them in his mouth; he was intensely focused on the book in front of him and subconsciously mouthing along with what he was reading.

Elizabeth moved behind him and stroked her hands across his shoulders to get his attention, he looked up at her and they smiled at each other, both caught in the others gaze. She slowly moved around him, gently pushing his chair away from the desk. Once he had been rolled far enough out she sat on his lap, her legs at both sides of his.

"Hi" he whispered gravelly, causing her insides to turn to goo as it always did when he spoke that way.

She could do little else other than kiss him, thoroughly. Once she had come up for air she scratched the back of his neck in a way she knew he loved. "Hi yourself." She whispered back, and settled herself more in his lap. She leaned back, still with her arms around his neck. "So I'm a little curious, is the 'we' in your note you and me, or is it you, me _and_ the kids."

He smiled up at her, stroking his hands around her waist, "Both." He prolonged her obvious agony for information. Moments passed and he could see her getting more anxious for information, of course then she pulled her trump card and began subtly squirming in his lap. He laughed at her torture technique and raised his hands as if in surrender. "Ok I give, I give. Stevie has taken the other two for the day, shopping, lunch and then to the afternoon showing at the movies. They will be back late afternoon to join us for a family dinner, your choice, and then family night, their choice I'm afraid." He screwed up his face at the thought of what punishment his children could make him face for kicking them out the house so early on a Saturday. The girls in particular were unimpressed and could seek very serious retribution if they combined their annoyance.

Elizabeth watched the thoughts cross his face and could read the subtext. The kids had been bribed to leave and she suspected that one of their credit cards had also been handed out. "I assume you set a sensible limit on the credit card this time?" She looked at him sternly, both remembering the last time the kids had been given a free rein and only their parents assumption that they would understand limits before leaving. Jason had been the one with the sense that day, the girls would have gone wild without him.

"Yes." Henry responded dejectedly. "Maximum $50 each shopping, then appropriate lunch and movie ticket with small amount of snacks." He smiled at her again and then quietly added. "Do I pass, Ma'am?"

And she was a pile of goo again. She shifted on his lap, "So let me get this straight, the kids are away, busy for at least another 6 hours, we are not expecting visitors, the office is closed….and the bed is upstairs?"

"You read my mind babe." Henry kissed her fiercely and his hands trailed over her back and up into her hair.

Elizabeth dragged her mouth from his, she groaned. "We need to move now or this could be very uncomfortable and end up with one or both of us in the ER!"

Henry laughed and moved her off his lap, he stood and took her hand. "Your wish is my command." He pulled her from the study and made very quick work of the stairs. Out of habit he still closed the bedroom door behind them and went to the task of making his wife's wishes come true.

More to come soon, I promise.


	2. Chapter 2

The Day Off - Chapter 2

 _So I can't believe the response to this, thanks. It has been great trying to write for a different show and I am pleased you feel it is going well. This chapter keeps the rating so those who wished more, sorry, I don't do that, you can all fill in the blanks. On with the show then._

Henry McCord rolled over in bed, it had been a long time since they had spent all of a Saturday morning in bed and he had loved every minute of it. He turned to face his beloved wife and kissed the exposed shoulder that was closest to him. He loved her, God how he loved her and he was looking forward to spending a relaxing day with her alone and then having their kids joining them.

Henry watched as Elizabeth slowly woke up and smiled at her when she looked a little confused as to why she was in bed when the midday sun was shining on her. "Did I not wake up already?" She said quietly.

"Yeah but then we went back to bed again." He smiled and pulled her towards him, "Now Mrs McCord, time to get up, I have plans." He kissed her briefly and moved out of the bed, very aware of her eyes on him as he crossed to the bathroom. Turning he smirked at her, "Babe stop staring and come join me in the shower."

She jumped up from the bed and followed him in to the small room. "It's not my fault that the view is so good, is it?"

He laughed and began to turn on the shower, "The view isn't all that bad from here either."

Elizabeth whacked his arm, "If that is supposed to be a compliment, you had better improve it mister."

Henry grabbed her round the waist, then stared in to her eyes, "You're gorgeous, you were gorgeous when I met you and you are even more beautiful now."

Elizabeth smiled, her eyes a little watery, he was always good with words. "Oh Henry." She kissed him.

Just as the kiss was getting a little more heated Henry pulled back, "Uh huh, no distractions, we have a schedule to follow." He pushed her into the shower and followed her. As the water beat down on both of them, Elizabeth smiled. "No distractions huh, I almost see that as a challenge."

For the next ten minutes she proceeded to do everything she could to distract her husband and was a little frustrated when nothing worked. Henry quickly washed himself, ignored her and then got out of the shower and put a towel round his waist. He waited with a towel for her and wrapped her in it. He stepped out of the bathroom and checked the clock, just after 12. Elizabeth came up behind him and was determined to distract again only her stomach made a huge gurgling noise.

"Looks like lunch not brunch" Henry commented as he moved around the room getting dressed for the day.

"Man I'm starving." Elizabeth sat on the edge of the bed.

"Well you were the one who wanted to be distracted." Henry smirked at her. "C'mon, get dressed, we've got lunch to eat."

Henry made his way down the stairs leaving Elizabeth to dress herself, just in case she continued with the distraction plan. He went out the front door to his least favourite part of his wife's new job, her security detail. Sure he was very grateful that they would put their lives on the line for her, but it got a little tiring having to run all his family plans through them. He stopped himself, he was being selfish and that was unlike him, the security guys were very discreet and usually went out of their way to help his family live as normal a life as possible and since he would never forgive himself if something happened to Elizabeth, the detail were here to stay.

The agent outside was a regular but not Elizabeth's main agent as they had been given the day off along with the rest of her staff. He approached the door as Henry opened it.

"Afternoon Dr McCord."

"Hi Ben, anything we need to know?" Henry asked the question but knew if anything had come up the agents would have come into the house before now.

"No Sir, Reynolds went with the children, dressed down as per your request, to anyone looking on it looked like Stevie and her boyfriend were taking the younger kids out for the day."

Henry looked at him, "I assume he will be on his best behaviour?" His look turning to a glare.

"Yes Sir, sorry I didn't mean to imply anything…." For a second the agent lost his composure then gathered it again. "As you requested Reynolds doesn't look like an agent but will protect your family."

"Thank you." Henry smiled. "Now for the rest of us, lunch at McQuarries pub like we planned then a walk in the park before visiting Smiths bookshop then home for dinner."

"We have everything under control Dr McCord, are we leaving now? I'll send the first team to the pub if we are."

"Yes, we will be ready shortly."

Ben nodded, "very good, I will get the detail prepped." He walked away from Henry and Henry went back into the house.

"Babe, the security is all organised, you ready?" he called up the stairs.

Elizabeth appeared at the top of the front stairs above him. She was wearing a casual outfit that Henry knew she would say had been thrown together but it still had the ability to leave him speechless.

"Since I have not been read in on the plan, I wasn't sure what to wear." She spun on the stair to let him see the full effect. "Is this ok?"

"Perfect babe, just perfect." He moved over to the bottom of the stairs and hugged her then leaned up and kissed her gently.

"A relaxing day awaits you Madam Secretary, where nothing of the world can get in the way."

He pecked her on the lips in a brief kiss and took her hand, leading her off the stairs. "Your chariot awaits."

Elizabeth let out a loud laugh, "Never had you pegged as a fairy godmother Henry, can't wait to see the outfit." She walked passed him and opened the door, her detail springing to life as she emerged. Within seconds they were in the car making their way to wherever Henry had planned and for once in her busy schedule Elizabeth sat back in the seat letting her husband take full control of their plans.

 **AN: I have no idea whether the security detail would be run like this but it is fiction so just take it as this. Thanks. One more chapter after this.**


	3. Chapter 3

A Day Off - Chapter 3

 _Here is the conclusion to my little story. I have really enjoyed being part of this fandom and will try to write more. Thanks for the support and comments. Hope you all enjoy the end to their day off._

Elizabeth sat on the comfy sofa in their living room waiting for the kids to come home. She'd had a great afternoon, all her favourite things to do. The pub food was a very good way to start and she had eaten healthily, so much so that she wondered if she would actually be able to eat dinner even now. The little Irish pub had become a firm favourite for them on their arrival at their new house and no-one batted an eyelid when her detail arrived to check the place out now. She and Henry had sat in a quiet corner and simply enjoyed each others company. They had then taken a walk through her favourite park and was able, for a few moments, to forget that she had the weight of the world on her shoulders at times. The weather had been wonderful, not too hot that it was uncomfortable to sit in and they had sat on a bench and pretended that there weren't four burly guys watching out for them. They had talked about their life, world events (especially ones that she had no part in at all) and the kids. It had felt great to connect back with her world that she often felt was disappearing the more time she spent in the state department.

Finally Henry had surprised her with a visit to their favourite antique book store. From the first time she had met Henry they had shared a love of books. Obviously Henry had taken that love to a new level with his studies but she was also a big fan. For both of them the older the book the better and knowing this, James Smith always kept a few items aside for them if they visited. It had taken Elizabeth a couple of visits to realise that Henry obviously told the man when they were coming and had directed him to their personal areas of interest. It meant that every time they were there she just had to buy something, and today was no exception. She looked at the book on her lap, its fine binding that was in mint condition, she lifted it to her nose and inhaled, she loved the smell of old books. Gently almost reverently she opened the book and stared at the writing, it was over 300 years old, older than the country she served. It had come from Britain, and was a Georgian copy of a work of William Shakespeare. Like the other two she had of its kind it was not the play that mattered but the fact that she and Henry would lie in their bed reading it to each other forming memories that would last her a lifetime. She really loved books.

"Hey babe, what are you doing?" Henry broke the spell and she looked up at him.

"Just waiting for the time when we read this to each other." She replied.

He smiled indulgently at her; he also enjoyed their time reading. It had begun early in their relationship before the internet or cable TV was there to entertain them, or distract them. He knew from a previous conversation with her that it was at the moment they were reading that they both had fallen in love with each other completely. Reading brought them together and even although they were busier now than they had ever been he vowed that it would be one of the many things that kept them together.

"Afraid it will have to wait, Allison called, they are on their way and in her words they have an 'amazing plan' for family night."

Elizabeth giggled at the look on his face. "C'mon babe, how bad could it be?"

Henry looked shocked, "Do not challenge our children in that way Liz, you know this could be a very long night."

Elizabeth was stopped from replying when the front door flew in and their three children arrived home. She used to refer to them as her bundles of energy but that seemed to convey an image of small children, she had not come up with another name that would evoke the loud, wonderful disturbance her children brought to the house.

"We're back" Jason called out, stating the obvious. They piled into the main room carrying bags and big cups of pop and bags of popcorn.

"I don't think we need to worry about dinner for a long time." Henry commented kissing Stevie and Allison on the forehead and ruffling Jason's hair.

Allison flopped on the sofa, her bags surrounding her. "We had a fab time." She stated.

"Yeah dad, for the record $50 is too high a limit." Jason added to the conversation. "Took me and Chris Reynolds over two hours to get them out of the shops, I didn't sign up for that this morning."

"Sorry Jase, I feel your pain." Henry commiserated with his son.

Elizabeth moved over to the sofa where Allison was and Stevie had sat on the side. "C'mon, show me what you bought."

"Mom, we got some amazing clothes at this shop in Georgetown, its second hand but wow they are unbelievable" Allison stated quickly removing the items she had bought from the bags.

Jason rolled his eyes, "I can't live through this again." He mumbled and Henry smiled at him. "What did you blow my 50 bucks on then?"

Jason reached down for his fairly small bag, "Well I took Stevie's advice and went to the game store with the returns section and instead of one violent and shocking game for $50 I was able to buy three. She does have some good ideas….for a girl."

"Hey I heard that dork, show some respect." Stevie piped up from the sofa where she was now covered in a pile of clothes that all three McCord women were gushing over.

"Well buddy I think we need to get out of here before they use us as models, how about we go get the snacks organised in the kitchen for tonight." Henry nodded in the direction of the sofa then steered Jason out of the room leaving the ladies to bond over clothing.

"You got all this for $50" Elizabeth was incredulous.

"No we got it for $40 each so we spent the rest on jewellery." Allison said, quickly sidling a look to her big sister. "Look this one will be great in my belly button when I get it pierced." She said innocently.

Elizabeth looked at the offending item but before she could say anything Stevie weighed in. "Yeah Mom, our appointment was confirmed for next week, you just need to sign these forms for Allison and we are good to go."

"No…..no….no.. " Elizabeth started. "Henry get in here, the girls want to get their belly buttons pierced." Elizabeth was struggling to stand and try to get to Henry so they could put a united front up against the girls getting a matching piercing. Unfortunately for her, her children had conspired with her husband against her.

"What's up", Henry said nonchalantly as he walked back into the main room. "oh by the way I just signed Jason's form for his lip piercing."

Elizabeth stood in the middle of the room dumbstruck, she could form no words and for her that was a very big deal. Moments passed as she waved her hands from the sofa and the girls to Jason and finally to Henry. Her world had shifted on its axis and not in a good way. Suddenly from around the room there was deep laughter and as she quickly caught on to what was happening Elizabeth began to laugh too.

Once all five of them had calmed down it was announced that one of Jason's violent games was the family activity much to most others disappointment. However once they got into teams, parents vs children, they all found it fun. The parents were not doing well until Elizabeth and Henry realised that their skills as ex-agents could be put to excellent use in the game, either by silent communication between them or different ways to fight on the screen. It was at the point where they won that apparently all their children decided enough was enough.

They ordered take out from their local restaurant, while getting some for the detail outside as well and sat watching a movie. Disney was always the best, at least that's what Elizabeth believed and while the girls agreed wholeheartedly, Henry and Jason took a little longer to be convinced that it would be good if Nemo found his way home.

The family slowly drifted off to bed, they knew that they would have to be on duty a little more tomorrow with church with the first family and a lunch invite to the White House. Elizabeth was in bed by the time Henry had checked the house, not that it needed done with secret service agents outside but he liked to do it. He got ready for bed and then got in beside her snuggling up to her. Elizabeth sighed as she relaxed in his arms.

"So, good day off?" He asked quietly.

"The best Henry, I love you and our family."

"Me too" He cuddled closer beside her and felt her drift into sleep. "Love you babe." He whispered and let himself fall asleep too.

 **AN: so all done, thanks for reading. Will have to see if inspiration hits, maybe an actual story where Elizabeth is working, although I have enjoyed writing about the family so who knows.**


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